Just Tell Me You’re Not Interested

I know reporters are busy. We all are. Chris Andersen wrote an article about being inundated with PR spam, and I even commented about how our industry sometimes contributes to this issue.

But I also know the frustration of following up with a reporter, who asks you to resend the email or to call back later at another time. When you do what they ask, you expect the journalist to follow his/her promise as well. Except, all I get is the cold shoulder.

All I ask is simple respect in turn.

If you don’t want to review or read my email, tell me.

If you don’t have the time to chat with me, tell me.

But don’t tell me to resend an email that you promise to read and call me back after your meetings. And don’t use the same excuse twice to blow me off… because well, I know you’re blowing me off. The outlet and reporter will remain nameless.

I always ask if they have time to chat while giving a quick 2 secs on why I’m calling. My hope is that while I respect their time, please respect mine.

You do make a good point about journalists not wanting to lose a lead. In this case, I doubt the reporter ever read my email or had any intention. My best guess is because my company didn’t have name recognition with him, and I was disregarded from the get go.

What if you give them an out? Like “I am sure you are really busy and if you don’t have time I totally understand.” That kind of thing. Also I think another reason they don’t say flat out that they are not interested is that they want to make sure that in the event you do have some kind of breakthrough technology or idea that they have not burned or even closed that bridge.

About

Cece Lee is senior director of product marketing for PowerSchool and author of PR Meets Marketing, which highlights her thoughts on how to attract and delight customers through content, video and social media marketing.

This blog contains Cece's personal opinions and are not representative of her company's.